How To Buy Train Tickets Online Through IRCTC

Do you want to buy online train tickets from IRCTC in India? Have you ever felt that buying train tickets from reservation counter is very tiresome and time consuming process? Well if your answer is Yes, then this article is for you. This article will show buy train tickets of Indian Railways online and that too hassle free. It takes just two to three minutes to your ticket. So go on and find out how to buy online e tickets for your train journey.

Have you ever felt that buying train tickets through reservation counter as a time consuming and a hefty process? Here is the solution for the purchase of railway ticket for your journey.

Where to buy ?

First and foremost question arises in the mind is where to buy and is it safe to purchase from that source. Indian Railway do have an enterprise called IRCTC (Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited). IRCTC is an official enterprise of Indian Railways which provide the platform for purchase the train tickets online via its website www.irctc.co.in. So you just need to log in to its official website i.e., www.irctc.co.in.

Pre-requisites of buying train tickets online

In order to buy Indian Railways ticket, you need to register your self on IRCTC's website. If you do have an IRCTC account, then you are ready to purchase your train ticket. But if you don't have one, go on and create or open IRCTC account for free of cost.

Login with your IRCTC account

Now I will assume that you have got your own IRCTC User Id and Password. Just open www.irctc.co.in. Enter Username and Password and click on Login button.

Fill up few details in Plan My Travel page

After successful login, you will be redirected to "Plan My Travel" page. Here you need to fill up the following details.

From : Station where you want to board the train

To : Station where you want to get down

Date : Date of journey

Ticket Type : Here you can choose either e-Ticket or i-Ticket. In e-Ticket, the ticket will be delivered to your email. In i-Ticket, tickets are delivered to your address through courier services. For courier service, IRCTC will charge 20 rupees extra.

Quota : Here you can choose any one of the following quotas:-

General : Most commonly used

Tatkal : To purchase in Tatkal Quota

Ladies : To purchase in Ladies Quota

After filling up the particulars, just click on "Find Trains".Note : Fill up first three to four letters in From/To fields and the site will suggest the appropriate train stations.

Select the desired train and check the seat availability :-

After clicking "Find Trains" link, the list of all trains which travel through those entered pair of stations will be displayed. Just click on the desired class of your desired train. Seat availability, distance, train number etc will be displayed. Seat availability of next five days will also be displayed. If you have decided to purchase, then click on "Book" link shown beside the train seat availability.

Fill up passenger's details

You need to fill up the following information here.

Passenger Name : Name of the passenger

Age : Age of the passenger

Sex : Gender of the passenger

Berth Preference : You can choose your berth preference here

Senior Citizen : Here you have to check this check box if the passenger's age is more than 60 years in order to avail concession on the fare.

Child Passenger Details, if child/children are travelling with you.

Consider For Auto Upgradation : Check this one if you want to upgrade your ticket if possible that too for free of charge. I recommend you to check this one as you may be upgraded to higher class by chance without any extra money.

You can check any of the conditions such as book the tickets if all passengers are allotted seats in same coach or book ticket only if lower berth is allotted and so on.

Mobile Number : Enter your/one of the passenger's mobile number here.

Verification Code:Enter the code displayed in the Image that is shown above this field.

And click on "Go" to proceed.

Verify the journey details

After clicking on "GO", you will be shown the details such as passenger names, train number & name, date of journey and fare details.Verify all the details and click on "Make Payment" if you want to proceed with the purchase of train ticket.

Payment options available

There is wide range of payment options available, by which we can make the payment. These transactions are safe and secure as they are verified by Verisign.Here are the various options through which we can make payment.

Payment through credit cards

Following credit cards can be used to make payment.

Visa/Master(Powered by HDFC Bank)

Visa/Master(Powered by ICICI Bank)

Visa/Master(Powered by AXIS Bank)

Visa/Master(Powered by CITI Bank)

American Express

Payment through Net Banking

Following Net Banking servies can be used to make payment.

ICICI Bank

HDFC Bank

AXIS Bank

IDBI Bank

SBI Internet Banking

Punjab National Bank

Federal Bank

Syndicate Bank

Indusind Bank

Karnataka Bank

Andhra Bank

Oriental Bank of Commerce

Corporation Bank

Bank of India

Indian Bank

SBI Associate Bank's

Union Bank of India

Bank of Baroda

Payment through debit cards

Following Bank's debit cards can be used to make payment.

CITI Bank

SBI

Punjab National Bank

Andhra Bank

Bank of India

Indian Bank

Union Bank of India

Canara Bank

Payment through cash cards

Following cash cards can be used to make payment.

ITZ Card

Done Cash Card

I Cash Card

Oxi Cash

Payment in EMI's

Following Bank's credit cards can be used to make payment in easy monthly installments.

ICICI Bank

CITI Bank

Once you click on your desired payment mode, you will be redirected to the payment gateway of selected bank.Fill up the details and after successful payment, you will be told to not refresh or click on Back button of the browser. Be patient for one or two minutes and once again you will be redirected to IRCTC Booking Details Page.

Where is my ticket?

As you can see the ticket here, you will receive the same in your e mail as well as in your mobile via SMS. You can take a print out and show the Ticket Collector. Even you can show the SMS that is delivered to your mobile which is equally approved by the Indian Railways. The concept of SMS tickets is to make IRCTC bookings environment friendly by avoiding the use of paper.

Hope you have got an idea and you will surely able to book your upcoming trip's train tickets by yourself.

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Hi Ashis,Few points worth adding to our article.1. Couple of lines on IRCTC's new initiative to accept mobile sms as a ticket caried with a valid identity card.2. Process for cancellation of ticket3. How to access the Booking History4. How to check the PNR status on IRCTC, if the tickets are not confirmed.